1963 Pittsburgh Steelers season
The 1963 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 31st in the National Football League. The Steelers won seven games, and lost four, with three games ending in a tie. As a result, the Steelers finished in fourth place in the NFL Eastern Conference. It was also their final season of splitting home games between Forbes Field and Pitt Stadium before moving all of their home games to the latter for the next six seasons. Because tie games were not included in NFL standings at the time, the Steelers had a chance to play in their first ever NFL Championship Game if they defeated the New York Giants in the season finale, but they fell 33-17.
For the first time in 1963, the Steelers wore their trademark black helmets with their logo on one side of the helmet. They had used the logo previously on yellow helmets, but 1963 was the first season in which their now-signature look was used full-time in the regular season.
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Time | Result |
| 1 | September 15, 1963 | at Philadelphia Eagles | T 21–21 | |
| 2 | September 22, 1963 | New York Giants | W 31–0 | |
| 3 | September 29, 1963 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 23–10 | |
| 4 | October 5, 1963 | at Cleveland Browns | L 35–23 | |
| 5 | October 13, 1963 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 24–23 | |
| 6 | October 20, 1963 | Washington Redskins | W 38–27 | |
| 7 | October 27, 1963 | Dallas Cowboys | W 27–21 | |
| 8 | November 3, 1963 | at Green Bay Packers | L 33–14 | |
| 9 | November 10, 1963 | Cleveland Browns | W 9–7 | |
| 10 | November 17, 1963 | at Washington Redskins | W 34–28 | |
| 11 | November 24, 1963 | Chicago Bears | T 17–17 | |
| 12 | December 1, 1963 | Philadelphia Eagles | T 20–20 | |
| 13 | December 8, 1963 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 24–19 | |
| 14 | December 15, 1963 | at New York Giants | L 33–17 |
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday September 15, 1963): [Philadelphia Eagles]
at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 58,205
- Referee: Bill Downes
- TV announcers:
- Philadelphia – McDonald 13 pass from Jurgensen
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 38
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 50
- Philadelphia – Smith 6 pass from Jurgensen
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 17
- Pittsburgh – Johnson 1 run
- Philadelphia – McDonald 75 pass from Jurgensen
- Pittsburgh – Johnson 11 pass from Brown
Week 2 (Sunday September 22, 1963): [New York Giants]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 46,068
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 11
- Pittsburgh – Hoak 2 pass from Brown
- Pittsburgh – Johnson 1 run
- Pittsburgh – Dial 46 pass from Brown
Week 3 (Sunday September 29, 1963): St. Louis Cardinals">St. Louis Cardinals (football)">St. Louis Cardinals
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 28,225
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- St. Louis – Triplett 63 run
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 21
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 40
- St. Louis – FG Bakken 28
- Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 21
- Pittsburgh – Ferguson 4 run
Week 4 (Saturday October 5, 1963): [Cleveland Browns]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 84,684
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 18
- Cleveland – Brown 8 run
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 8
- Pittsburgh – Dial 24 pass from Brown
- Cleveland – Collins 15 pass from Ryan
- Pittsburgh – Dial 41 pass from Brown
- Cleveland – Ryan 13 run
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 8
- Cleveland – Collins 20 pass from Ryan
- Cleveland – Krietling 19 pass from Ryan
Week 5 (Sunday October 13, 1963): St. Louis Cardinals">St. Louis Cardinals (football)">St. Louis Cardinals
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 23,715
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- St. Louis – FG Bakken 44
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 45
- Pittsburgh – Mack 83 pass from Brown
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 47
- Pittsburgh – Brown 1 run
Week 6 (Sunday October 20, 1963): [Washington Redskins]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 41,987
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- Pittsburgh – Brown 1 run
- Washington – FG Khayat 49
- Pittsburgh – Hoak 8 run
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 9
- Washington – Snead 1 run
- Washington – James 36 pass from Snead
- Washington – James 5 run
- Pittsburgh – Hoak 1 run
- Washington – FG Khayat 15
- Pittsburgh – Haley 24 interception return
- Pittsburgh – Dial 4 pass from Brown
Week 7 (Sunday October 27, 1963): [Dallas Cowboys]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 19,047
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- Dallas – Clarke 5 pass from Meredith
- Dallas – Folkins 35 pass from Meredith
- Pittsburgh – Dial 83 pass from Browns
- Dallas – Howton 13 pass from Meredith
- Pittsburgh – Dial 25 pass from Brown
- Pittsburgh – Dial 14 pass from Brown
- Pittsburgh – Mack 85 pass from Brown
Week 8 (Sunday November 3, 1963): [Green Bay Packers]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance:
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- Pittsburgh – Hoak 2 run
- Green Bay – FG Kramer 23
- Green Bay – FG Kramer 36
- Green Bay – FG Kramer 12
- Green Bay – Taylor 1 run
- Green Bay – Pitts 2 run
- Green Bay – FG Kramer 37
- Pittsburgh – Mack 33 pass from Brown
- Green Bay – Pitts 1 run
Week 9 (Sunday November 10, 1963): [Cleveland Browns]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 54,497
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- Cleveland – Collins 4 pass from Ryan
- Pittsburgh – Safety, Brown tackled by Schmitz in end zone
- Pittsburgh – Ballman 9 pass from Brown
Week 10 (Sunday November 17, 1963): [Washington Redskins]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 42,219
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- Washington – Crabb 53 interception return
- Pittsburgh – Johnson 3 run
- Washington – Mitchell 19 pass from Snead
- Pittsburgh – Ballman 67 pass from Brown
- Pittsburgh – Johnson 1 run
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 27
- Washington – Mitchell 20 pass from Barnes
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 18
- Washington – Richter 21 pass from Snead
- Pittsburgh – Ballman 92 kickoff return
Week 11 (Sunday November 24, 1963): [Chicago Bears]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 36,465
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- Chicago – Galimore 1 run
- Pittsburgh – Hoak 6 run
- Chicago – Bull 1 run
- Pittsburgh – Curry 31 pass from Brown
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 11
- Chicago – FG Leclerc 18
Week 12 (Sunday December 1, 1963): [Philadelphia Eagles]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 15,721
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 10
- Philadelphia – Retzlaff 24 pass from Hill
- Philadelphia – Brown 14 run
- Philadelphia – FG Clark 23
- Pittsburgh – Ballman 57 pass from Brown
- Philadelphia – FG Clark 40
- Pittsburgh – Ballman 8 pass from Brown
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 24
Week 13 (Sunday December 8, 1963): [Dallas Cowboys]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 24,136
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- Dallas – FG Baker 53
- Dallas – Meredith 2 run
- Pittsburgh – Dial 55 pass from Brown
- Pittsburgh – Carpenter 28 pass from Brown
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 24
- Dallas – FG Baker 46
- Dallas – Meredith 4 run
- Pittsburgh – Sapp 24 run
Week 14 (December 15, 1963): [New York Giants]
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 63,240
- Referee:
- TV announcers:
- New York Giants – FG Chandler 34
- New York Giants – Shotner 41 pass from Tittle
- New York Giants – Morrison 3 pass from Tittle
- Pittsburgh – FG Michaels 27
- Pittsburgh – Ballman 21 pass from Brown
- New York Giants – Morrison 22 pass from Tittle
- New York Giants – Morrison 1 run
- Pittsburgh – Dial 40 pass from Brown
- New York Giants – FG Chandler 41
Standings